survivors of sexual violence and those whom support them were positively affected by the

event.”

Mikhayla Dunaj, sophomore and editor at the Western Herald attended last years event as press, but was surprised by how

emotional she found the speak-out.

“I think for me the most powerful thing in the middle of march we were in a circle and we all stopped and got to share an experience that we had if we had one,” Dunaj said.

Though Dunaj intended to maintain her distance as a reporter, the accepting environment gave her the courage speak up about a past abusive relationship.

“I went into it covering it, I didn’t think I was going to be sharing that night, and it was the first time I mentioned it at college. It was emotional for me. It’s really powerful to be surrounded by a bunch of women who are slowly learning to love themselves and know they are not alone in that,” Dunaj said.

To coincide with the month of April, some peer educators have focused their April presentations specifically on consent or Title IX reporting, said Pecic.

“But in every single thing we do, we have such a large emphasis on sexual assault prevention awareness, that really every month is sexual assault month for us, as cheesy as that sounds,” Pecic said.

Peer mentors like Pecic present in classrooms at WMU about sexual health; from birth control methods, to relationships or sexuality. Though students experience a diverse array of experiences, Pecic feels as though their work has contributed to a safer campus community.

“I have heard amazing stories of people partying and being taken care of, not taken advantage of, while drunk. Those aren’t stories in the minority. It’s the norm here,” Pecic said. Pecic’s view is influenced by the stories she’s heard from friends, and situations she herself has experienced, that could’ve gone bad, but didn’t, because she “was surrounded by WMU students.”

“From how I hear administration talk about the process of handling sexual assault, WMU truly does care. And I don’t think a lot of universities can say that.” Dunaj encourages campus to attend, not only to learn about consent, but to empower

survivors.

“I think it’s good to remind yourself of the idea of empowering women even with just the smallest of things; just saying “yes” because you want to say yes, not because society says you should say yes. It’s good to be reminded of that,” Dunaj said.

For more information on programming through the FIRE! Sexual Assault Peer Education

Program visit their website: http://www.wmich.edu/healthcenter/healthpromotion/

About

This website features the reporting, writing and multimedia work of undergraduate students at various levels of the WMU journalism curriculum. The student work published here is intended to both showcase the work that students in the program are doing as well as serve as another source of information about the Kalamazoo community and current issues.
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